Intel Corporation has extended its lead in the high-end server segment, setting new standards in virtualization performance with the launch of seven 45 nanometer -manufactured Intel Xeon Processor 7400 Series products. With up to six processing cores per chip and 16MB of shared cache memory, applications built for virtualized environments and data demanding workloads, such as databases, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and server consolidation, experience dramatic performance increases of almost 50 percent in some cases.

Platforms based on these processors can offer tremendous scalability, ample computing threads, extensive memory resources and uncompromising reliability for enterprise data centers.

“This new processor series helps IT manage increasingly complex enterprise server environments, providing a great opportunity to boost the scalable performance of multi-threaded applications within a stable platform infrastructure” said Indika De Zoysa, Country Business Manager – Intel EM Ltd - Sri Lanka Liaison Office. “With new features such as additional cores, large shared caches and advanced virtualization technologies, the Xeon® 7400 series delivers record-breaking performance that will lead enterprises into the next wave of virtualization deployments. We are delighted to launch this product locally and feel that it will go a long way to fulfilling our aim of providing the latest and best technology to the local community thereby empowering them to reach global standards of excellence”

For more details on the Intel® Xeon® 7400 processor series, visit http://www.intel.com/xeon.

IBM in talks to buy Sun Microsystems

According to the news services, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc, a move that could strengthen the technology giant against rivals in the high-end computer server and software markets. If they reach a deal, it would be IBM's largest acquisition and boost its offering of computer hardware, software and services. Sun also brings in clients from the telecommunications and financial services industry, although sales to both sectors have been battered by the banking crisis and competition with HP.

Analysts saw the move as part of a consolidation trend, as Hewlett-Packard Co, IBM and Cisco Systems Inc jostle for control of corporate data centers and compete to supply the high-end computers that power complex corporate transactions and networks, as well as software.

Sun has long been cited as a takeover target for IBM, HP, Dell Inc or Cisco, which introduced a comprehensive set of data center products earlier this week.

IBM's largest acquisition to date is its $5 billion purchase of Canadian software maker Cognos in 2008. IBM had nearly $13 billion in cash at the end of 2008.

Read More: MSNBC , Yahoo News

OnLive – The Newest Entrant to the Video Gaming Industry

Californian technology firm OnLive is going to launch a service that streams videogames over the Internet, meaning players can avoid buying expensive consoles or packaged software. It is planned to be launched by the end of this year in the United States, after seven years of development. The firm is building a library of videogame software on servers that players reach over broadband Internet by using mini-programs in or OnLive MicroConsoles connected to home computerstelevision sets.

"We've cleared the last remaining hurdle for the videogames industry: effective online distribution," said OnLive founder and chief executive Steve Perlman. "By putting the value back into the games themselves and removing the reliance on expensive, short-lived hardware, we are dramatically shifting the economics of the industry."

Major Videogame makers Ubisoft, Atari, Warner Brothers, and Electronic Arts are among the studios providing PC versions of hot titles for the OnLive service previewed at a major Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. "We will launch in the United States and move into other countries as fast as we can," OnLive engineer Ronn Brashear said.

MicroConsole devices will be provided free with videogame services that let people pay monthly subscriptions to play online. Pricing of subscriptions has yet to be finalized. Graphics of game play are streamed to players while the interactive software remains secure on OnLive computers, eliminating piracy concerns, Brashear said.

Read more: CNET

Final Release of Internet Explorer 8 Now Available

                                                                                    

On 19^th March, Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch announced the availability of the final release of Internet Explorer 8 to download and install on their PCs. It is available for the Windows releases of Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista (RTM), SP1 and SP2.

Click here to download Internet Explorer 8!

As the Windows Experience Blog says, with Internet Explorer 8, common tasks on the Web are faster and easier. And if you’re interested in how Internet Explorer 8 stacks up from a performance standpoint, read this blog post.

Source: The Windows Team Blog

Chipmakers Push for Web-Enabled TV Sets

Someone would be hard-pressed to find a screen today that does not get Internet access. So how is it that the Internet has largely escaped the single biggest screen in most of our lives -- the television?

Now a movement is going on by chip makers big and small to encourage a new generation of TVs with full browser capability, like a personal computer. In last October, Intel released its own TV-focused chip, and numerous other semiconductor designers and manufacturers are doing the same, industry analysts said.

But perhaps the most surprising thing is not how long it is taking to get the Internet on TV but that, to some degree, the slow pace is deliberate. Television manufacturers simply do not seem to want it. Some industry analysts say TV makers have a point, in that many consumers associate their television with one-way communications Relevant Products/Services they ingest while leaning back on the couch. Surfing the Internet, the thinking goes, is a more immersive, active pursuit. And also the additional cost of adding such a facility.

Industry analysts say chip makers needs cooperation from the TV manufacturers in order to provide a better outcome, but they believe that consumers would eventually buy Internet-enabled set-top boxes, requiring TV makers to embed chips themselves or lose the business. However the ultimate test will be when the technology hits the market and consumers decide.

Read the full article on Top Tech News